The present invention relates in general to computer software, and in particular to a simplified method and system for accessing internet information for closed-user groups.
Many companies now enable their employees to access the internet via the company""s own network. This trend will increase in the future. It has been recognized that access to current information from the internet can improve the competitiveness of the company.
At the same time, problems are becoming increasingly apparent in connection with the internet:
It is often difficult to find the information required on the internet.
Once the information has been found, it frequently has to be downloaded via very slow network connections.
Employees with similar tasks frequently require the same information. Even now, each person normally searches for information independently and also downloads it independently from the internet for him/herself. Possible synergies are not being utilized.
Owing to the problems stated, many employees do without using the internet and thus fail to acquire the information which is actually useful.
The internet offers a wide variety of very different information. Due precisely to the linkage of individual documents by hyperlinks, one often accesses pages which no longer have anything to do with the information originally sought. The user is diverted from the actual task and works in a less purposeful manner. Time is easily squandered unnecessarily in this way.
If the network connection fails, an employee who requires unconditional access to information on the internet cannot continue working.
The only approach known hitherto is the use of a proxy. The proxy can be configured such that the last pages retrieved from the internet are always held in the cache. Documents which are required frequently can thus be downloaded faster. The proxy can also be configured such that employees cannot access pre-specified web servers with data which are not required for the work.
Even this solution only covers partial aspects. The search for information is problematic here; here as before employees have to filter the relevant data out of the extensive range of information offered on the internet. It is only possible to block access to certain information by blocking entire web servers.
Vol. 40, No. 06, mechanisms for monitoring documents and adapting links.